Wichita ? The Prairie Rose Chuckwagon Supper and Hopalong Cassidy theater will be converted into a dinner theater and convention center, the new owners said.

Greg and JW Johnson, owners of the Bar J Horse Ranch in rural Wichita, bought the property in rural Benton Friday for about $1 million, just hours before it was to be auctioned off.

The Prairie Rose was part of the bankruptcy filing that included the failed Wild West World theme park, the Hopalong Cassidy Cowboy Museum, and other property owned by Thomas Etheredge. Etheredge filed for bankruptcy after Wild West World closed in July, just two months after opening.

The Johnsons plan to reopen the dinner theater in October with a Christian faith component while converting the Hopalong Cassidy theater into a convention center and auditorium.

Some bidders were upset that the deal was reached just before the auction was scheduled to begin.

“I really hate that,” JW Johnson said. “We did not want this deal to come down to the very last day like this. I feel very bad for everyone who came this far with trailers to buy things and take things home. I know they’re disappointed.”

The deal had been in the works for about nine days and is expected to close within a month, JW Johnson said.

“This past week has been quite a roller-coaster ride. We’ve had offers in, we’ve been turned down, and we’ve had stipulations. Thomas did a lot of things to really draw this out.”

Also Friday, a bidder paid about $400,000 for Etheredge’s home and the land surrounding it.

The Johnsons have operated Bar J since 1979, raising paints and quarter horses. They also rented horses and offered riding lessons. In 2004, the ranch began hosting a weekly Monday night roundup and Bible challenge from early spring through late fall.

“It’s very important that we keep the cowboy feeling out here, but there will be a lot of Christ out here, too,” Greg Johnson said of his new property.

The couple plans to add to church camps, Muscular Dystrophy Association and childhood cancer camps and retreats with dormitory-style bunkhouses. The new facility also could team with the auditorium for business meetings and retreats, Greg Johnson said.